Rosa Lee Carson
Moonshine Kate (born Rosa Lee Carson, October 10, 1909, Atlanta, Georgia - 1992, Bainbridge, Georgia) was an American country and folk guitarist and banjo player who is best known for recording with her father Fiddlin' John Carson and his band, the Virginia Reelers. Kate was among the earliest recorded women in country music, and arguably her best remembered song was a rendition of her father's composition "Little Mary Phagan". Carson was born the youngest of nine children in Atlanta, Georgia. As early as the age of five, she appeared as a vocalist and dancer at stage shows and political rallies as an accompaniment to her father's musical act. By age 14, Carson proficiently performed with the guitar and banjo as she played alongside her father on Atlanta's flagship radio station, WSB, and toured with him and the Virginia Reelers throughout Georgia. When Carson graduated from high school, she became a permanent member of the band. In June 1925, Carson made her recording debut accompanying her father on guitar on four sides for OKeh Records. In the same session, she also recorded two solo efforts, "The Lonely Child", which was about a lonely wandering orphan, and "Little Mary Phagan". The somber ballad was composed by Fiddlin' Jon Carson in 1915, as a response to the notorious, and highly publicized murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan, which was allegedly perpetrated by her manager, Leo Frank. She played and recorded with the Virginia Reelers until 1934, adopting the stage name Moonshine Kate in 1928 at the suggestion of Okeh Records man Polk Brockman. Many of Kate's recordings for Okeh play up her name, consisting of short musical passages interspersed with quick-witted dialogues revolving around the moonshine trade. The Great Depression ended the Carsons' recording days, and she continued to perform intermittently, also working with Eugene Talmadge on his 1932 bid for Governor of Georgia and for the Atlanta Department of Recreation. She married in 1944 and retired in Georgia. In 1983, both she and her father were inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame. |
Birth and Death Data: Born October 10, 1909 (Atlanta), Died 1992 (Bainbridge)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1925 - 1934
Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, vocalist, speaker, banjo, songwriter, composer, lyricist, yodeling
Notes: Daughter of John Carson ("Fiddlin' John Carson"). Also known as "Moonshine Kate."
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 101-125 of 131 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OKeh | W403921 | 10-in. | 4/24/1930 | The hen and the rooster | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Virginia Reelers | Fiddle (violin) and guitar | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W403922 | 10-in. | 4/24/1930 | Goin' where the climate suits my clothes | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Virginia Reelers | Fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W403923 | 10-in. | 4/24/1930 | The Dominicker duck | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Virginia Reelers | Fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W403924 | 10-in. | 4/24/1930 | Silver threads among the gold | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Female-male vocal duet, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W403925 | 10-in. | 4/24/1930 | On the banks of the old Tennessee | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Female-male vocal duet, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W403926 | 10-in. | 4/24/1930 | You gotta let my dog alone | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Dialogue, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | instrumentalist, guitar, speaker | |
OKeh | W403927 | 10-in. | 4/24/1930 | John in the army | Fiddlin' John Carson | Instrumental trio and male vocal solo, with comic dialogue | speaker | |
OKeh | W403928 | 10-in. | 4/24/1930 | The old grey horse ain't what he used to be | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Dialogue, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | speaker, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W403929 | 10-in. | 4/24/1930 | You can’t forget the day you was born | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Female-male vocal duet, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W404620 | 10-in. | 12/9/1930 | After the ball | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Virginia Reelers | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W404621 | 10-in. | 12/9/1930 | My home in Dixieland | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Virginia Reelers | Mixed vocal trio, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W404622 | 10-in. | 12/9/1930 | The old ship is sailing for the promised land | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Virginia Reelers | Mixed vocal trio, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W404623 | 10-in. | 12/9/1930 | That woman don’t treat John right | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Virginia Reelers | Instrumental ensemble, with vocal | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W404624 | 10-in. | 12/9/1930 | At the cross | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Virginia Reelers | Mixed vocal trio and male vocal solo, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W404625 | 10-in. | 12/9/1930 | Take the train to Charlotte | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Virginia Reelers | Mixed vocal trio and male vocal solo, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W404626 | 10-in. | 12/9/1930 | Little more sugar in the coffee | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Virginia Reelers | Male vocal solo and male vocal duet, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W404627 | 10-in. | 12/9/1930 | Didn’t he ramble | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Virginia Reelers | Mixed vocal trio, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
OKeh | W404628 | 10-in. | 12/9/1930 | You gonna get something you don’t expect | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Virginia Reelers | Instrumental ensemble, with vocal | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W404642 | 10-in. | 12/9/1930 | The brave soldier | Moonshine Kate and her Pals | Female vocal solo, with instrumental trio | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W404643 | 10-in. | 12/9/1930 | Are you going to leave the old home? | Moonshine Kate and her Pals | Female vocal solo, with instrumental trio | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W404644 | 10-in. | 12/9/1930 | The poor girl's story | Moonshine Kate and her Pals | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W404645 | 10-in. | 12/9/1930 | Texas bound | Moonshine Kate and her Pals | Female vocal solo, with instrumental trio | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W404646 | 10-in. | 12/10/1930 | I smell your hoecake a-burning | Moonshine Kate and her Pals | Female vocal solo, with instrumental trio | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W404647 | 10-in. | 12/10/1930 | Knotty Head Jake | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Female-male vocal duet, with instrumental accompaniment | vocalist | |
OKeh | W405070 | 10-in. | 10/30/1931 | Log cabin home | Moonshine Kate | Female vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Carson, Rosa Lee," accessed November 21, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/201619.
Carson, Rosa Lee. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/201619.
"Carson, Rosa Lee." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 21 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Moonshine Kate, 1911-1992 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n00067126
Wikidata: Moonshine Kate - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1946761
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/62778869
MusicBrainz: Moonshine Kate - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e97176e7-f1f8-47f3-8520-bfae90660296
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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